Riverton Museum Kicks Off Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series

The Riverton Museum hosts the first two Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers June 6^th and June 13^th at 3:30pm.

First, Marcel Kornfeld, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Wyoming, will be presenting a free informative talk at the Riverton Museum at 700 E. Park Ave. on Saturday, June 6th at 3:30 p.m. For nearly 40 years, Marcel Kornfeld has researched and written about the archaeology and prehistory of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains regions. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst after studying at the Universities of Wyoming and New Mexico. The focus of his recent research with the Paleoindian Research Lab (PiRL) is on the first people in the Americas, especially the first people in the high Rocky Mountains, and the use of rock shelters by these cultures. Marcel works closely with avocational archaeologists and societies in Wyoming, Colorado, and throughout North America through CoAS (Society for American Archaeology-Council of Affiliated Societies). He and his lab provide volunteer field and lab opportunities to the general public and students, and contribute to general education through various programs. His talk, titled “Paleoexotica: What you didn’t know about Paleoindians and were afraid to ask,” is an exciting look at the most interesting details his research has revealed. “Marcel Kornfeld’s talk last year was one of the highlights of the 2014 speaker series, and his 2015 talk promises to kick off this summer’s speakers series in fine form,” said curator Karline Schubach.

 

The following Saturday June 13^th, Bob Hargis, a longtime resident of Riverton and a recognized authority on the birds of Wyoming, will present a free talk on “Birds and Birding in Fremont County” at 3:30 p.m. at the Riverton Museum on 700 E. Park Ave. Hargis has been birding for 43 years (20 of them as a resident of Wyoming), and is a member of the Wyoming Bird Records Committee. He specializes in the migration patterns and the birding hotspots of various regions, including our own. He formerly taught classes in Outdoor Education, Biology, and Natural History in Santa Cruz, California, and he worked for over twenty years with at-risk youth, exposing them to out-of-doors experiences. Bob and his wife Suzanne were both Sales Field Naturalists for Brunton, traveling North and South America to promote their optical products. Bob has traveled and birded in over sixty countries and has seen over 5,500 species of birds, but can never stay away from the birds and wildlife of Wyoming for long. Hargis’s talk will feature a discussion of bird migration patterns in our area, the different species of bird life that can be encountered in Fremont County throughout the year, and information and photos that show just how special, varied, and surprisingly underappreciated our area is as a rich birding destination. “Fremont County is an underestimated birding destination, and we look forward to Bob Hargis’s talk,” said Riverton Museum curator Karline Shubach.